As the saying goes, "Frugal but not shabby, splendid but not extravagant," one can maintain dignity frugally without draping oneself in expensive possessions.
Yoon Suk-yeol's wife, Kim Keon-hee, was sentenced on the 28th to one year and eight months in prison at the first trial after being found guilty of receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church. In delivering the sentence, the court cited this four-character idiom as it explained the reasons for sentencing and found that Kim's conduct was inappropriate.
◇"One can maintain dignity frugally even without draping oneself in expensive possessions"
The Criminal Agreement Division 27 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Woo In-seong) on the 28th sentenced Kim to one year and eight months in prison and a forfeiture of 12.815 million won on charges of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act and the Political Funds Act and of brokerage bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Special counsel team Min Joong-ki sought 15 years in prison, a fine of 2 billion won, and forfeiture of about 948 million won for Kim. However, the court found her not guilty on the charges related to Deutsch Motors stock manipulation (violation of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act) and the Myung Tae-gyun poll (violation of the Political Funds Act). Only part of the charge that she received high-priced goods from the Unification Church along with a request regarding church pending issues was found guilty.
Judge Woo, explaining the reasons for sentencing, said, "The first lady, being closest to the president, can have a profound influence on the president," adding, "She is a symbolic figure who represents the nation together with the president. Conduct befitting that role is necessary, and fundamentally a high level of integrity is required." He continued, "Far from setting an example, it is something that must not become a negative lesson for the public."
He continued, "The pursuit of profit is, in almost all cases, a human nature. However, one's position must not become a means of pursuing profit," and added, "Approaches by moneyed interests to power may be commonplace. That is why the higher the position, the more one must consciously guard against it. Yet the defendant (Kim) misused her position as a means of pursuing profit."
Judge Woo said, "The defendant failed to refuse and accepted expensive luxury goods offered in connection with the solicitation by former Unification Church World Headquarters head Yoon Young-ho, and then busied herself with using them to adorn herself."
He said, "As the saying goes, frugal but not shabby, splendid but not extravagant, one can maintain dignity frugally even without draping oneself in expensive possessions," while noting, "However, the defendant did not demand money or valuables first."
He also said, "There is no indication that the defendant conveyed Yoon Young-ho's request to her spouse, the president, in order to realize the solicitation," and "Belatedly, she is partly reproaching herself and reflecting on her inconsiderate behavior of accepting items such as bags."
◇First appears as an expression describing a Baekje palace in the Samguk Sagi
Frugal but not shabby, splendid but not extravagant means to be simple yet not shabby, and splendid yet not luxurious. It is said to be an expression describing a palace built in Hanam Wirye-seong during King Onjo's reign in the Baekje Annals of the Samguk Sagi. In the Joseon Gyeonggukjeon, Jeong Do-jeon used similar words to explain the aesthetics of Joseon palace architecture.
Art historian Yoo Hong-jun, director of the National Museum of Korea, has appeared on broadcasts several times to introduce frugal but not shabby, splendid but not extravagant as part of the "aesthetics of Korean tradition."